This invention relates to interactive play with a computer.
Children, for example, use a variety of playthings for entertainment, fantasy play, and education. Some playthings, such as plush toys, can serve as companions, playmates, or characters in a game. Other playthings, such as busy boxes, have pushbuttons, horns, lights, and switches. When a child pushes the buttons or switches, enjoyable sounds or light displays are generated. Some busy boxes simulate the controls of a real-world object, such as an automobile dashboard or aircraft cockpit; others simulate a real-world environment, such as a farm, city, or shopping center.
Some electronic toys for entertainment and education are equipped with microprocessors, stored control programs in read-only memories (ROMs), specialized sound or speech processors, keyboards or other input devices, small display devices, lights, and loudspeakers. The control program typically prompts a user to respond in a way intended to achieve a specific educational or entertainment goal, receives input, and gives a corresponding audiovisual response.
Children are also beginning to use personal computers for education and entertainment, using software to teach reading, spelling, and mathematics.
Adults are also known to use interactive playthings.